Hand brake for railroad cars



Nov. 1, 1932. E. s. K'EESEY HAND'BRAKE FOR RAILROAD CARS Filed Dec. 9, 1931 INVENTOR zggarfl ffsey,

ATTORNEY WITNESS: v

Patented Nov. 1, 1932 entree; s'rarss earner caries EDGAR B. KEESEY, OF MAMMOTH, WEST VIRGINIA HAND BRAKE FOR nartnoaneens Application filed December 9, 1931. Serial No. 579,928; I

The object of the invention is to provide a manual actuating means for railroad car brakes so designed that the brake setting function may be accomplished always by a clownward movement, whereby the brakeman is enabled to exert his strength to the best advantage and runs no risk of being thrown off the car, as is the condition where the brake is set by a lateral pulling movement; to provide a structure of the kind indicated in which the hand actuated element is readily folded down into a position where it is out of the way, irrespective of the elements connected with the brake bar; and to provide a brake actuating means which is of simple form, susceptible of cheap manufacture, and

of a character which makes its application possible to conventional car structures without modification thereof. i

With this object in view, the invention consists in a construction and combination of parts of which a preferred embodimentis illustrated in the acompanying drawing but to which the invention is not to be restricted.

" Continued use in practice may suggest certain changes or alterations and the right is claimed to make any which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

In the drawing: 7

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the invention, a portion of the car bolster being shown.

Figure 2 is an elevational view looking in a direction at right angles to that in which Figure 1 is viewed, this figure showing the bolster in section.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the structure of Figure 1.

Figure 4: is a sectional View on the plane indicated by the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the rack bar actuating lever.

The frame of the invention comprises the forward and rear standards and 11, each consisting of a bolt- 12 and a spacing sleeve 4 to which the bolt 12 extends. The cap member 15 is disposed on top of the spacing sleeves 14 and the bolts pass through this J cap member. The bolts of the rear standards 11, however, after passing through a baseplate 16 are seated on top of the bolster 17, also passing through the latter and through a bracket "plate 18 disposed against the under face of the bolster. The bolts of 5 the forward standards also pass through the base plate and bracket 16 and 18 but to the at the forward end.

The cap plate 15 is bent into an inverted U-shaped form at the center, as indicated at 20, the web portion of this U-shaped section M being provided with a slotfor the passage 05 of a rack 21, terminally provided with a swinging loop 22 which acts as an abutment to limit theforward movement of therack. The rack isgoperatively connected by means of the'chain 23, with the brake bar to be It actuated, this chain being trained over a di rection pulley 24 rotatable in the bracket 18. To prevent the chain 23 from dropping'oif the; direction pulley, when the chain is loose, A, 7 an idler pulley is employed, this being also carried by the bracket 18 and in peripheral engagement with the direction pulley 24:. Both the idler pulley 25 and direction pulley 24 are grooved to permit the passage of the chain between them. V

The base plate 16, bolster 17 andpbase portion of the bracket 18 are slotted for the passage of the rack bar 21.

The actuating'means forthe rack bar consists of a hand lever 26 formed with a circular head portion 27 on a part of whose periphery are formed the teeth 28, the latter meshing with the rack bar in one position of the'head 20. The head 27 is formed with the stub journals 29 and these are received in inclined slots 30 formed in the side Walls of the U-shaped portion of the" cap member. 15. When the stub journals' are in the bottoms of the slots 30 the teeth 28' are in mesh with the teeth on the rack bar and the lever is extending outwardly in a lateral direction from the rack bar. Therefore, depression of the lever effects elevation of the rack bar and a pull on the chain 23 with resultant movement of the brake beam and setting of the brake.

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To take care of the lateral thrust imposed on the brake bar by the actuation of the lever 26, a thrust roller 31 is disposed behind the rack bar in the U-shaped portion of the cap member, and a similar thrust roller 32 disposed behind it just above the plane of the base plate 16, this latter thrust roller being supported on a stud spanning the cars 33 formed on the sleeve 14 of the rear standard 11.

A spring actuated dog 34 is pivotally mounted on the base plate 16, the actuating spring 35 being disposed below the foot brake 36 with which the dog is formed. The actuating spring tends to force the nose of the :dog towards the teeth of the rack bar, so that the nose is always in position to fall into enga-gement with a selected tooth. Thus, as the rack bar is elevated by the actuation of the lever 26, the elevated position is preserved by the dog 34, so that the lever, having reached the limit of itspossible downward movement, may have its teeth lifted out of engagement with the teeth of the rack bar for sliding the stub ournals up the slots 39. Returning the lever to an upwardly inclined position, it may thereafter be moved downwardly to bring the teeth into engagement with the vteeth of the rack bar and another movement of the latter efiected. This series of operations is continued until the brakes are set with the desired degree of intensity, such set position bein maintained by the dog 34.

The brakes may be released by depression on the footplate of the dog" to swing it out of engagement with the rack bar, which will permit the latter to drop and relieve the tension on the chain 23. v c r When not in use, the lever may be folded down against the rack bar, as shown in '"full lines in Figure 1, the teeth on its head having been disengaged from the teeth of the rack bar by effecting bodily movement of the lever made possible by the arrangement of the slots 30.

. The invention having been described, what is claimed as new and useful is: 1

A brake actuating device comprising spaced standards having means for anchoring them to the bolster of a car, a cap plate secured to the standards at their upper ends and having a U-shaped web portion, a bar operatively connected with the brake beam and extended through into the U-shaped portion of the cap plate, a roller spanning and carried by said U-shaped portion to con stitute a bearing for the upper end of the bar,

.- a similar roller supported between adjacent standards adjacent the bolster, and an actuating lever operatively engaging the bar on the opposite edge from that which engages said roller, said lever having a pivotal mounting in said cap plate. V

. 'In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature.

' EDGAR B. KEESEY. 

